Manage a video conference session in a multi-tasking environment

ABSTRACT

In aspects of manage a video conference session in a multi-tasking environment, a computing device has a display screen to display a user interface of a foreground active application, such as a device application or a video conference session. The computing device implements a content control module that determines a user is designated as a participant of the video conference session, detects that a remote user connects to the video conference session from a remote device, and determines the device application is the foreground active application with the user interface of the device application displayed on the display screen. The content control module can then initiate to surface the user interface of the video conference session for display on the display screen responsive to the remote user connecting to the video conference session and the video conference session not being the foreground active application.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/209,157 filed Mar. 22, 2021 entitled “Manage aVideo Conference Session in a Multi-Tasking Environment,” the disclosureof which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

With the proliferation of the “work from home” lifestyle, videoconferencing has rapidly expanded and become a primary means for manytypes of social, networking, meeting, and employment interactions.Generally, devices such as smart devices, mobile devices (e.g., cellularphones, tablet devices, smartphones), laptop computers, consumerelectronics, and the like have become increasingly commonplace and usedextensively to facilitate the everyday demands of video conferencing.Although quite useful for remote working, remote learning, and socialdistanced interactions, as well as simulating “in-person” communicationsthat are lacking from the “work from home” lifestyle, it is inherentlydifficult to facilitate and maintain user engagement with videoconferencing, and particularly, for extended periods of time.

In some instances, a user will connect to join a video conferencesession only to minimize and/or move the video conference user interfaceout of focus so as work on other tasks, such as reading and composingemails, or working on other projects. All too often, the user can becomeinvolved in the multi-tasking projects and forget they are connected toan active video conference session because the video conference userinterface is no longer in focus as the foreground active application. Inother instances, a user may start a video conference session a fewminutes before a scheduled meeting, and similarly, become distractedwith other projects and multi-tasking while waiting for others to jointhe video conference. Additionally, a user may mute the audio and/ordeactivate the video for a video conference session, which only leads tomore disconnect and a lack of awareness for participation in a videoconference session. This lack of awareness can lead to awkward momentsduring a video conference, such as when a user is unaware of beingcalled upon by another participant during the video conference, or whenthe user has forgotten that a meeting has started and others are waitingfor the user to return their attention to the video conference session.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Implementations of the techniques to manage a video conference sessionin a multi-tasking environment are described with reference to thefollowing Figures. The same numbers may be used throughout to referencelike features and components shown in the Figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example device and features in an environment tomanage a video conference session in a multi-tasking environment inaccordance with one or more implementations as described herein.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate example methods to manage a video conferencesession in a multi-tasking environment in accordance with one or moreimplementations of the techniques described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates various components of an example device that can beused to implement the techniques to manage a video conference session ina multi-tasking environment as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations of techniques to manage a video conference session in amulti-tasking environment are described, and provide techniques that canbe implemented by any type of computing devices, such as smart devices,mobile devices (e.g., cellular phones, tablet devices, smartphones,wireless devices), consumer electronics, and the like. Generally, avideo conference call feature may be included as a device application ina wireless device, and can be initiated by a user who is utilizing thedevice to initiate or join a video conference session. When the videoconference session is active, a user interface of the video conferencingapplication is displayed, such as on the display screen of the wirelessdevice and/or on an extended display screen, such as for userinteraction and viewing as a participant of the video conferencesession.

The user of the wireless device may be multi-tasking while participatingin a video conference session, such as reading and composing email,reading the news via a web browser, and/or using any number of otherdevice applications on the device. Accordingly, other application userinterfaces may also be displayed over or along with the video conferenceuser interface. The user interface of the foreground active applicationis generally displayed on top of, or over, the other displayedapplication user interfaces. If a user is multi-tasking while alsoparticipating in a video conference session, other displayed userinterfaces, such as the video conference user interface, are associatedwith background active applications. For example, the user of thewireless device may start a video conference session, and then minimizethe user interface so that the video conference session is ready tobegin, but the video conferencing application is not the foregroundactive application on the device.

In aspects of the described techniques, the wireless device implements acontent control module that can determine a user of the device isdesignated as a participant of a video conference session, which isrunning as a background active application on the device. The contentcontrol module can also detect that the user interface of the videoconference session is replaced for display with an application userinterface that is associated with a different device application, whichis running as the foreground active application on the device. As notedabove, the user of the wireless device may start a video conferencesession, and then minimize the video conference user interface whilewaiting for others to join the video conference.

The content control module can then detect that a remote user hasconnected to the video conference session based on a remote deviceconnection, such as while the video conferencing application is runningon the device as a background active application. In response to theremote user connecting to the video conference session, and determiningthat the video conferencing application is not the foreground activeapplication on the device, the content control module can initiate tosurface the video conference user interface of the video conferencesession for display, replacing another application user interface. Whenthe user of the wireless device initiates starting the video conferencesession, but gets distracted with multi-tasking while waiting for othersto join the video conference, this described technique surfaces thevideo conference user interface for display as a reminder to the userthat someone else has now joined the video conference session. Inimplementations, the user may limit the features described herein forauto-surfacing the user interface of the video conference session, suchas controlled with device settings so that the feature does not become anuisance to the user who may not want to be interrupted whilemulti-tasking.

Alternatively, the user of the wireless device may be a participant inan active video conference session, but elect to multi-task and useother device applications to accomplish other projects or tasks, inwhich case the user may not hear or see all of the video conference thatan active participant would likely attain. For example, the user maytune away from the video conference session and begin reading orcomposing email, begin reading the news via a web browser, and/or useany number of the other device applications on the device. The contentcontrol module is implemented to monitor the video conference sessionaudio, and can detect in the audio data that the user is being addressedduring the video conference. In implementations, the audio data of thevideo conference session is parsed into text content, and the user isdetected as being addressed based on detecting an identity of the userfrom the text content of the parsed audio data.

In response to the user of the wireless device being addressed duringthe video conference session, and determining that the videoconferencing application is not the foreground active application on thedevice, the content control module can initiate to surface the userinterface of the video conference session for display, replacing anotherapplication user interface. When the user of the device tunes away fromthe video conference session, but is then called upon or addressed byname during the video conference, this described technique surfaces thevideo conference user interface for display as an alert or indication tothe user that they are being addressed by a speaker in the videoconference session.

In other implementations, the content control module may determine thatthe audio of the video conference session has been muted by the user ofthe wireless device, and/or the content control module may determinethat the video for the video conference session has been deactivated.Similar to the user minimizing the video conference user interface whilewaiting for others to join the video conference, and/or the usermulti-tasking and using other device applications while not fully payingattention to the video conference session, the user may also mute thevideo conference session audio and/or deactivate the video conferencesession video.

The content control module can then initiate to unmute the audio of thevideo conference session by turning on the device microphone (or aconnected microphone). The content control module can also activatecamera devices to capture the video of the user for display during thevideo conference session. For example, the content control module canunmute the audio and/or activate the camera devices to capture the videofor the video conference session responsive to a remote user connectingto the video conference session, or the user being addressed during thevideo conference session, and determining that the audio of the videoconference session has been muted and/or the video for the videoconference session has been deactivated.

In other implementations, the content control module can detect outgoingaudio communications of a video conference session from the wirelessdevice while a user interface of another device application is theforeground active application displayed on the device. For instance, thecontent control module detects the outgoing audio communications of thevideo conference session while the user interface of the videoconference session is not being displayed. The content control modulecan then initiate to display an alert to indicate that the videoconference session is a background active application and the outgoingaudio communication is being transmitted as an output of the videoconference session. When the user of the wireless device tunes away froma video conference session and the video conference application is abackground active application on the device, but the user leaves theaudio and/or the video of the conference session activated, the user isalerted that audio and/or video communications are still beingtransmitted as an output of the video conference session.

While features and concepts of the described techniques to manage avideo conference session in a multi-tasking environment can beimplemented in any number of different devices, systems, environments,and/or configurations, implementations of the techniques to manage avideo conference session in a multi-tasking environment are described inthe context of the following example devices, systems, and methods.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example 100 of techniques to manage a videoconference session in a multi-tasking environment, such as implementedwith a computing device 102. In this example 100, the computing device102 may be a wireless device 104, such as a smartphone, mobile phone,flip phone. Generally, the computing device 102 may be any type of anelectronic, computing, and/or communication device, such as a computer,a laptop, a desktop computer, a tablet, a wireless device, and so forth.The computing device 102 can be implemented with various components,such as a processor system 106 and memory 108, as well as any number andcombination of different components as further described with referenceto the example device shown in FIG. 6 . For example, the wireless device104 can include a power source to power the device, such as arechargeable battery and/or any other type of active or passive powersource that may be implemented in an electronic, computing, and/orcommunication device.

In implementations, the wireless device 104 may be communicativelylinked, either by a wired or wireless connection, to an extended displayscreen 110 on which digital image content can be displayed, as generatedfor display by the wireless device 104. For example, a user may join orinitiate a video conference session using the wireless device 104, andutilize the larger sized extended display screen 110 for improvedviewing and interaction during the video conference session. Thewireless device 104 (e.g., as an example of the computing device 102)also includes a display screen 112, which may be a flat display screenor a curved display of the device.

The computing device 102 includes device applications 114, such as anytype of messaging application, email application, video communicationapplication, cellular communication application, music application,gaming application, media application, and/or any other of the manypossible types of device applications. Many device applications 114 havean associated application user interface 116 that is generated anddisplayed for user interaction and viewing, such as on the displayscreen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended displayscreen 110. Generally, an application user interface 116, or any othertype of video, image, graphic, and the like is digital image contentthat is displayable on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110.

In this example 100, the device applications 114 include a videoconferencing application 118, which a user of the computing device 102can utilize to initiate or join a video conference session 120. When avideo conference session 120 is active, a video conference userinterface 122 of the video conferencing application 118 can be generatedand displayed on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110, such as for user interactionand viewing as a participant of the video conference session 120. Forinstance, an example of the user interface 122 for a video conferencesession 120 is shown displayed on the extended display screen 110.

Further, more than one of the device applications 114 may be activelyexecuting on the computing device 102, with the associated applicationuser interfaces 116 being generated and/or displayed on the displayscreen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended displayscreen 110. Notably, any of the multiple, active user interfaces 116 canbe minimized, maximized, and/or overlapping for display, such asgenerally shown on the extended display screen 110, which includes morethan one application user interface 116 being displayed. For example, auser of the wireless device 104 may be a participant in a videoconference session 120, and the video conference user interface 122 isdisplayed on the extended display screen 110.

Additionally, the user of the device may be multi-tasking whileparticipating in the video conference session 120, such as reading andcomposing email, reading the news via a web browser, and/or using anynumber of the other device applications 114 on the computing device 102.Accordingly, other application user interfaces 116 may also be displayedover or along with the video conference user interface 122 on theextended display screen 110, such as an email application user interface124, a new email message 126, and/or any other various user interfaces116 of the many device applications 114. Notably, the user interface ofthe foreground active application 128 is displayed on top of, or over,the other displayed application user interfaces, such as the new emailmessage 126 of the email application, which is the foreground activeapplication in this example. The other displayed application userinterfaces 116, such as the video conference user interface 122, areassociated with background active applications 130. For example, theuser of the wireless device 104 may start a video conference session120, and then minimize the user interface 122 so that the videoconference session is ready to begin, but the video conferencingapplication 118 is not the foreground active application 128 on thedevice.

In this example 100, the computing device 102 implements a contentcontrol module 132, which may include independent processing, memory,and/or logic components functioning as a computing and/or electronicdevice integrated with the computing device 102. Alternatively or inaddition, the content control module 132 can be implemented in software,in hardware, or as a combination of software and hardware components. Inthis example, the content control module 132 is implemented as asoftware application or module, such as executable software instructions(e.g., computer-executable instructions) that are executable with aprocessor (e.g., with the processor system 106) of the computing device102 to implement the techniques and features to manage a videoconference session in a multi-tasking environment, as described herein.

As a software application or module, the content control module 132 canbe stored on computer-readable storage memory (e.g., the memory 108 ofthe device), or in any other suitable memory device or electronic datastorage implemented with the module. Alternatively or in addition, thecontent control module 132 may be implemented in firmware and/or atleast partially in computer hardware. For example, at least part of themodules may be executable by a computer processor, and/or at least partof the modules may be implemented in logic circuitry.

In aspects of the described techniques, the content control module 132is implemented by the computing device 102, and can determine that auser of the device is designated as a participant of the videoconference session 120, which is running as the background activeapplication 130 executing on the device. The content control module 132can also detect that the video conference user interface 122 of thevideo conference session 120 is replaced for display on the displayscreen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended displayscreen 110 with an application user interface 116 that is associatedwith a different device application 114, which is running as theforeground active application 128 on the device. As noted above, theuser of the wireless device 104 may start a video conference session120, and then minimize the video conference user interface 122 whilewaiting for others to join the video conference.

The content control module 132 can detect that a remote user hasconnected to the video conference session 120 based on a remote deviceconnection 134, such as while the video conference user interface 122 ofthe video conference session 120 is minimized and/or the videoconferencing application 118 is running on the device as a backgroundactive application 130. In an implementation, the content control module132 can process incoming audio data 136 of the video conference session120, and detect that the remote user (e.g., via a remote device) hasconnected to the video conference session based on the incoming audiodata, which includes an audio stream associated with the remote device.The content control module 132 can also determine that the videoconference user interface 122 of the video conference session 120 is notbeing displayed on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110 when the remote user connectsto the video conference session.

In response to the remote user connecting to the video conferencesession 120 (e.g., by the remote device connection 134), and determiningthat the video conferencing application 118 is not the foreground activeapplication 128, the content control module 132 can initiate to surfacethe video conference user interface 122 of the video conference session120 for display on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110, replacing the applicationuser interface 116 of the device application 114. When the user of thewireless device 104 initiates starting the video conference session 120,but gets distracted with multi-tasking while waiting for others to jointhe video conference, this described technique surfaces the videoconference user interface 122 for display as a reminder to the user thatsomeone else has now joined the video conference session.

Alternatively, the user of the wireless device 104 may be a participantin an active video conference session 120, but elect to multi-task anduse other device applications 114 to accomplish other projects or tasks,in which case the user may not hear or see all of the video conferencethat an active participant would likely attain. For example, the usermay tune away from the video conference session 120 and begin reading orcomposing email, begin reading the news via a web browser, and/or useany number of the other device applications 114 on the wireless device104. As above, the content control module 132 can also detect that thevideo conference user interface 122 of the video conference session 120is replaced for display on the display screen 112 of the wireless device104 and/or on the extended display screen 110 with an application userinterface 116 that is associated with a different device application114, which is running as the foreground active application 128 on thedevice.

The content control module 132 is implemented to monitor the videoconference session audio 138, and can detect in the audio data 140 ofthe video conference session 120 that the user is being addressed duringthe video conference. In implementations, the video conference sessionaudio data 140 of the video conference session 120 is parsed into textcontent 142, and the user is detected as being addressed based ondetecting an identity of the user from the text content of the parsedaudio data. In response to the user of the wireless device 104 beingaddressed during the video conference session, and determining that thevideo conferencing application 118 is not the foreground activeapplication 128, the content control module 132 can initiate to surfacethe video conference user interface 122 of the video conference session120 for display on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110, replacing the applicationuser interface 116 of the device application 114. When the user of thewireless device 104 tunes away from the video conference session 120,but is then called upon or addressed by name during the videoconference, this described technique surfaces the video conference userinterface 122 for display as an alert or indication to the user thatthey are being addressed by a speaker in the video conference session.

In other implementations, the content control module 132 may determinethat the audio 138 of the video conference session 120 has been muted bythe user of the wireless device 104, and/or the content control module132 may determine that the video 144 for the video conference session120 has been deactivated. Similar to the user minimizing the videoconference user interface 122 while waiting for others to join the videoconference, and/or the user multi-tasking and using other deviceapplications 114 while not fully paying attention to the videoconference session, the user may also mute the video conference sessionaudio 138 and/or deactivate the video conference session video 144.

The content control module 132 can then initiate to unmute the audio 138of the video conference session 120 by turning on the device microphone146 (or a connected microphone used for video conferencing). The contentcontrol module 132 can also activate the one or more camera devices 148to capture the video 144 of the user for display during the videoconference session. For example, the content control module 132 canunmute the audio 138 and/or activate the one or more camera devices 148to capture the video 144 for the video conference session 120 responsiveto a remote user connecting to the video conference session, or the userbeing addressed during the video conference session, and determiningthat the audio 138 of the video conference session 120 has been mutedand/or the video 144 for the video conference session 120 has beendeactivated.

In other implementations, the content control module 132 can detectoutgoing audio communications of the video conference session 120 fromthe wireless device 104 while a device application user interface 116 ofa device application 114 is the foreground active application 128displayed on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or onthe extended display screen 110. For instance, the content controlmodule 132 detects the outgoing audio communications of the videoconference session 120 while the video conference user interface 122 ofthe video conference session 120 is not being displayed on the displayscreen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended displayscreen 110. The content control module 132 can then initiate to displayan alert 150, such as shown displayed on the display screen 112 of thewireless device 104, to indicate that the video conference session is abackground active application 130 and the outgoing audio communicationis being transmitted as an output of the video conference session. Whenthe user of the wireless device 104 tunes away from the video conferencesession 120 and the video conference application 118 is a backgroundactive application 130, but the user leaves the video conference sessionaudio 138 and/or the video conference session video 144 activated, theuser is alerted that audio and/or video communications are still beingtransmitted as an output of the video conference session.

Example methods 200, 300, 400, and 500 are described with reference torespective FIGS. 2-5 in accordance with implementations to manage avideo conference session in a multi-tasking environment, such as duringdevice screen recording or during extended display screen recording.Generally, any services, components, modules, methods, and/or operationsdescribed herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware(e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combinationthereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in thegeneral context of executable instructions stored on computer-readablestorage memory that is local and/or remote to a computer processingsystem, and implementations can include software applications, programs,functions, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, any of thefunctionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, byone or more hardware logic components, such as, and without limitation,Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific IntegratedCircuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs),System-on-a-chip systems (SoCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices(CPLDs), and the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates example method(s) 200 to manage a video conferencesession in a multi-tasking environment, and is generally described withreference to a wireless device, as well as a content control moduleimplemented by the device. The order in which the method is described isnot intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number orcombination of the described method operations can be performed in anyorder to perform a method, or an alternate method.

At 202, a user interface of a foreground active application is displayedas a device application and/or as a video conference session in amulti-tasking environment. For example, the display screen 112 of thewireless device 104 and/or on the extended display screen 110 displays auser interface of a foreground active application 128, which may be anapplication user interface 116 of a device application 114 and/or thevideo conference user interface 122 of the video conference session 120in a multi-tasking environment.

At 204, a user is determined as being a designated participant of thevideo conference session that is the background active application on acomputing device. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 determines that a user of thedevice is designated as a participant of the video conference session120, which is the background active application 130 executing on thedevice.

At 206, the user interface of the video conference session is detectedas being replaced for display on the display screen with the userinterface of the device application that is the foreground activeapplication on the computing device. For example, the content controlmodule 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects that the userinterface 122 of the video conference session 120 is replaced fordisplay on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or onthe extended display screen 110 with the user interface 116 of thedevice application 114 that is the foreground active application 128running on the device.

At 208, a remote user is detected as having connected to the videoconference session from a remote device. For example, the contentcontrol module 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects that aremote user has connected to the video conference session 120 based onthe remote device connection 134. In an implementation, the contentcontrol module 132 can process the incoming audio data 136 of the videoconference session 120, and detect that the remote user has connected tothe video conference session (e.g., as the remote device connection 134)based on the incoming audio data 136, which includes an audio streamassociated with the remote device.

At 210, the user interface of the video conference session is determinedas not being displayed on the display screen when the remote userconnects to the video conference session. For example, the contentcontrol module 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 determinesthat the user interface 122 of the video conference session 120 is notbeing displayed on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104and/or on the extended display screen 110 when the remote user connectsto the video conference session.

At 212, the user interface of the video conference session is surfacedfor display on the display screen replacing the user interface of thedevice application responsive to the remote user connecting to the videoconference session. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 surfaces the user interface 122of the video conference session 120 for display on the display screen112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended display screen110, replacing the user interface 116 of the device application 114responsive to the remote user connecting to the video conferencesession.

FIG. 3 illustrates example method(s) 300 to manage a video conferencesession in a multi-tasking environment, and is generally described withreference to a wireless device, as well as a content control moduleimplemented by the device. The order in which the method is described isnot intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number orcombination of the described method operations can be performed in anyorder to perform a method, or an alternate method.

At 302, a user is determined as being a designated participant of thevideo conference session that is the background active application on acomputing device. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 determines that a user of thedevice is designated as a participant of the video conference session120, which is the background active application 130 executing on thedevice.

At 304, the user interface of the video conference session is detectedas being replaced for display on the display screen with the userinterface of the device application that is the foreground activeapplication on the computing device. For example, the content controlmodule 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects that the userinterface 122 of the video conference session 120 is replaced fordisplay on the display screen 112 of the wireless device 104 and/or onthe extended display screen 110 with the user interface 116 of thedevice application 114 that is the foreground active application 128running on the device.

At 306, audio data is detected to include the user being addressedduring the video conference session. For example, the content controlmodule 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects in the audiodata 140 of the video conference session audio 138 that the user isbeing addressed during the video conference session. In implementations,the audio data 140 of the video conference session audio 138 is parsedinto the text content 142, and the user is detected as being addressedbased on detecting an identity of the user from the text content of theparsed audio data.

At 308, the user interface of the video conference session is surfacedfor display on the display screen replacing the user interface of thedevice application responsive to the user being addressed during thevideo conference session. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 surfaces the user interface 122of the video conference session 120 for display on the display screen112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended display screen110, replacing the user interface 116 of the device application 114responsive to the user being addressed during the video conferencesession.

FIG. 4 illustrates example method(s) 400 to manage a video conferencesession in a multi-tasking environment, and is generally described withreference to a wireless device, as well as a content control moduleimplemented by the device. The order in which the method is described isnot intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number orcombination of the described method operations can be performed in anyorder to perform a method, or an alternate method.

At 402, a user is determined as being a designated participant of thevideo conference session that is the background active application on acomputing device. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 determines that a user of thedevice is designated as a participant of the video conference session120, which is the background active application 130 executing on thedevice.

At 404, audio data is detected to include the user being addressedduring the video conference session. For example, the content controlmodule 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects in the audiodata 140 of the video conference session audio 138 that the user isbeing addressed during the video conference session. In implementations,the audio data 140 of the video conference session audio 138 is parsedinto the text content 142, and the user is detected as being addressedbased on detecting an identity of the user from the text content of theparsed audio data.

At 406, the audio of the video conference session is determined to bemuted. For example, the content control module 132 implemented by thewireless device 104 determines that the audio of the video conferencesession 120 is muted. At 408, the audio of the video conference sessionis unmuted responsive to the user being addressed during the videoconference session and the audio being muted. For example, the contentcontrol module 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 initiates toactivate the device microphone 146 so as to unmute the audio 138 of thevideo conference session 120 responsive to the user being addressedduring the video conference and the determination that the audio ismuted.

At 410, the video for the video conference session is determined to bedeactivated. For example, the content control module 132 implemented bythe wireless device 104 determines that the video for the videoconference session 120 is deactivated. At 412, a camera is activated tocapture video of the user for the video conference session responsive tothe user being addressed during the video conference session and thevideo being deactivated. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 initiates to activate the one ormore camera devices 148 of the device to capture the video 144 of theuser for the video conference session 120 responsive to the user beingaddressed during the video conference session and the determination thatthe video is deactivated.

FIG. 5 illustrates example method(s) 500 to manage a video conferencesession in a multi-tasking environment, and is generally described withreference to a wireless device, as well as a content control moduleimplemented by the device. The order in which the method is described isnot intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number orcombination of the described method operations can be performed in anyorder to perform a method, or an alternate method.

At 502, a user is determined as being a designated participant of thevideo conference session that is the background active application on acomputing device. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 determines that a user of thedevice is designated as a participant of the video conference session120, which is the background active application 130 executing on thedevice.

At 504, an outgoing audio communication and/or outgoing video of thevideo conference session from the computing device is detected while auser interface of a device application is the foreground activeapplication displayed on the display screen. For example, the contentcontrol module 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 detects anoutgoing audio communication and/or outgoing video of the videoconference session 120 from the wireless device 104 while the userinterface 116 of a device application 114 is the foreground activeapplication 128 displayed on the display screen 112 of the wirelessdevice 104 and/or on the extended display screen 110.

At 506, an alert is displayed for the user indicating that the videoconference session is the background active application and the outgoingaudio communication and/or outgoing video is being transmitted as anoutput of the video conference session. For example, the content controlmodule 132 implemented by the wireless device 104 initiates to displaythe alert 150 as an indication to the user that the video conferencesession 120 is a background active application 130 and the outgoingaudio communication and/or the outgoing video is being transmitted as anoutput of the video conference session.

At 508, the user interface of the video conference session is surfacedfor display on the display screen replacing the user interface of thedevice application. For example, the content control module 132implemented by the wireless device 104 surfaces the user interface 122of the video conference session 120 for display on the display screen112 of the wireless device 104 and/or on the extended display screen110, replacing the user interface 116 of the device application 114.

FIG. 6 illustrates various components of an example device 600, whichcan implement aspects of the techniques and features to manage a videoconference session in a multi-tasking environment, as described herein.The example device 600 can be implemented as any of the devicesdescribed with reference to the previous FIGS. 1-5 , such as any type ofa wireless device, mobile device, mobile phone, flip phone, clientdevice, companion device, paired device, display device, tablet,computing, communication, entertainment, gaming, media playback, and/orany other type of computing and/or electronic device. For example, thecomputing device 102 and/or the wireless device 104 described withreference to FIGS. 1-5 may be implemented as the example device 600.

The example device 600 can include various, different communicationdevices 602 that enable wired and/or wireless communication of devicedata 604 with other devices. The device data 604 can include any of thevarious devices data and content that is generated, processed,determined, received, stored, and/or communicated from one computingdevice to another. Generally, the device data 604 can include any formof audio, video, image, graphics, and/or electronic data that isgenerated by applications executing on a device. The communicationdevices 602 can also include transceivers for cellular phonecommunication and/or for any type of network data communication.

The example device 600 can also include various, different types of datainput/output (I/O) interfaces 606, such as data network interfaces thatprovide connection and/or communication links between the devices, datanetworks, and other devices. The I/O interfaces 606 can be used tocouple the device to any type of components, peripherals, and/oraccessory devices, such as a computer input device that may beintegrated with the example device 600. The I/O interfaces 606 may alsoinclude data input ports via which any type of data, information, mediacontent, communications, messages, and/or inputs can be received, suchas user inputs to the device, as well as any type of audio, video,image, graphics, and/or electronic data received from any content and/ordata source.

The example device 600 includes a processor system 608 of one or moreprocessors (e.g., any of microprocessors, controllers, and the like)and/or a processor and memory system implemented as a system-on-chip(SoC) that processes computer-executable instructions. The processorsystem 608 may be implemented at least partially in computer hardware,which can include components of an integrated circuit or on-chip system,an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmablegate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and otherimplementations in silicon and/or other hardware. Alternatively or inaddition, the device can be implemented with any one or combination ofsoftware, hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that may beimplemented in connection with processing and control circuits, whichare generally identified at 610. The example device 600 may also includeany type of a system bus or other data and command transfer system thatcouples the various components within the device. A system bus caninclude any one or combination of different bus structures andarchitectures, as well as control and data lines.

The example device 600 also includes memory and/or memory devices 612(e.g., computer-readable storage memory) that enable data storage, suchas data storage devices implemented in hardware that can be accessed bya computing device, and that provide persistent storage of data andexecutable instructions (e.g., software applications, programs,functions, and the like). Examples of the memory devices 612 includevolatile memory and non-volatile memory, fixed and removable mediadevices, and any suitable memory device or electronic data storage thatmaintains data for computing device access. The memory devices 612 caninclude various implementations of random-access memory (RAM), read-onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, and other types of storage media in variousmemory device configurations. The example device 600 may also include amass storage media device.

The memory devices 612 (e.g., as computer-readable storage memory)provide data storage mechanisms, such as to store the device data 604,other types of information and/or electronic data, and various deviceapplications 614 (e.g., software applications and/or modules). Forexample, an operating system 616 can be maintained as softwareinstructions with a memory device 612 and executed by the processorsystem 608 as a software application. The device applications 614 mayalso include a device manager, such as any form of a controlapplication, software application, signal-processing and control module,code that is specific to a particular device, a hardware abstractionlayer for a particular device, and so on.

In this example, the device 600 includes a content control module 618that implements various aspects of the described features and techniquesto manage a video conference session in a multi-tasking environment. Thecontent control module 618 can be implemented with hardware componentsand/or in software as one of the device applications 614, such as whenthe example device 600 is implemented as the computing device 102 and/orthe wireless device 104 described with reference to FIGS. 1-5 . Anexample of the content control module 618 includes the content controlmodule 132 that is implemented by the computing device 102, such as asoftware application and/or as hardware components in the wirelessdevice. In implementations, the content control module 618 may includeindependent processing, memory, and logic components as a computingand/or electronic device integrated with the example device 600.

The example device 600 can also include a microphone 620 and/or cameradevices 622, as well as motion sensors 624, such as may be implementedas components of an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The motion sensors624 can be implemented with various sensors, such as a gyroscope, anaccelerometer, and/or other types of motion sensors to sense motion ofthe device. The motion sensors 624 can generate sensor data vectorshaving three-dimensional parameters (e.g., rotational vectors in x, y,and z-axis coordinates) indicating location, position, acceleration,rotational speed, and/or orientation of the device. The example device600 can also include one or more power sources 626, such as when thedevice is implemented as a wireless device and/or mobile device. Thepower sources may include a charging and/or power system, and can beimplemented as a flexible strip battery, a rechargeable battery, acharged super-capacitor, and/or any other type of active or passivepower source.

The example device 600 can also include an audio and/or video processingsystem 628 that generates audio data for an audio system 630 and/orgenerates display data for a display system 632. The audio system and/orthe display system may include any types of devices or modules thatgenerate, process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video,display, and/or image data. Display data and audio signals can becommunicated to an audio component and/or to a display component via anytype of audio and/or video connection or data link. In implementations,the audio system and/or the display system are integrated components ofthe example device 600. Alternatively, the audio system and/or thedisplay system are external, peripheral components to the exampledevice.

Although implementations to manage a video conference session in amulti-tasking environment have been described in language specific tofeatures and/or methods, the appended claims are not necessarily limitedto the specific features or methods described. Rather, the specificfeatures and methods are disclosed as example implementations to managea video conference session in a multi-tasking environment, and otherequivalent features and methods are intended to be within the scope ofthe appended claims. Further, various different examples are describedand it is to be appreciated that each described example can beimplemented independently or in connection with one or more otherdescribed examples. Additional aspects of the techniques, features,and/or methods discussed herein relate to one or more of the following:

A computing device, comprising: a display screen to display a userinterface of a foreground active application including at least one of adevice application or a video conference session in a multi-taskingenvironment; a content control module implemented at least partially inhardware and configured to: determine a user is designated as aparticipant of the video conference session that is active on thecomputing device; detect that a remote user connects to the videoconference session from a remote device; determine the deviceapplication is the foreground active application and the user interfaceof the device application is displayed on the display screen; andinitiate to surface the user interface of the video conference sessionfor display on the display screen responsive to the remote userconnecting to the video conference session and the video conferencesession not being the foreground active application.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described computing device,any one or combination of: the content control module is configured todetermine that the user interface of the video conference session is notdisplayed on the display screen when the remote user connects to thevideo conference session. The content control module is configured to:detect that the user interface of the video conference session isdisplayed on the display screen responsive to the video conferencesession being initiated on the computing device; and detect that theuser interface of the video conference session is replaced for displayon the display screen with the user interface of the device applicationprior to the remote user connecting to the video conference session. Thecontent control module is configured to: detect in audio data that theuser is being addressed during the video conference session; andinitiate to surface the user interface of the video conference sessionfor display on the display screen responsive to the user being addressedand the video conference session not being the foreground activeapplication. The audio data is parsed into text content and the contentcontrol module is configured to detect an identity of the user from thetext content of the parsed audio data. The computing device furthercomprising: an audio module to process incoming audio data of the videoconference session; and wherein the content control module is configuredto detect the remote user connecting to the video conference sessionbased on the incoming audio data including an audio stream associatedwith the remote device. The content control module is configured to:determine that audio of the video conference session is muted; andinitiate to unmute the audio of the video conference session along withthe user interface of the video conference session being surfaced fordisplay on the display screen. The content control module is configuredto: determine that video for the video conference session isdeactivated; and initiate to activate a camera to capture the video forthe video conference session along with the user interface of the videoconference session being surfaced for display on the display screen.

A method, comprising: determining a user is designated as a participantof a video conference session that is a background active application ona computing device; detecting that a user interface of the videoconference session is replaced for display on a display screen with auser interface of a device application that is a foreground activeapplication on the computing device; detecting that a remote user hasconnected to the video conference session from a remote device; andsurfacing the user interface of the video conference session for displayon the display screen replacing the user interface of the deviceapplication responsive to the remote user connecting to the videoconference session.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described method, any one orcombination of: determining that the user interface of the videoconference session is not displayed on the display screen when theremote user connects to the video conference session. The method furthercomprising detecting in audio data that the user is being addressedduring the video conference session and surfacing the user interface ofthe video conference session for display on the display screenresponsive to the user being addressed and the video conference sessionnot being the foreground active application. The method furthercomprising parsing the audio data into text content and detecting anidentity of the user from the text content of the parsed audio data. Themethod further comprising processing incoming audio data of the videoconference session and detecting the remote user has connected to thevideo conference session based on the incoming audio data including anaudio stream associated with the remote device. The method furthercomprising determining one or more of audio of the video conferencesession is muted and video for the video conference session isdeactivated and initiating, along with the user interface of the videoconference session being surfaced for display, one or more of unmutingthe audio of the video conference session and activating a camera tocapture the video for the video conference session.

A method, comprising: determining a user is designated as a participantof a video conference session that the user initiates, and the videoconference session is a background active application on a computingdevice; detecting that a user interface of the video conference sessionis replaced for display on a display screen with a user interface of adevice application that is a foreground active application on thecomputing device; detecting in audio data that the user is beingaddressed during the video conference session; and surfacing the userinterface of the video conference session for display on the displayscreen replacing the user interface of the device application responsiveto the user being addressed during the video conference session.

Alternatively or in addition to the above described method, any one orcombination of: parsing the audio data of the video conference sessioninto text content and the detecting that user is being addressedincludes detecting an identity of the user from the text content of theparsed audio data. The method further comprising detecting that a remoteuser connects to the video conference session based on the audio dataincluding an audio stream associated with a remote device and whereinthe surfacing the user interface of the video conference session fordisplay is further responsive to the remote user connecting to the videoconference session. The method further comprising detecting at least oneof an outgoing audio communication or outgoing video via the videoconference session from the computing device while the user interface ofthe device application that is the foreground active application isdisplayed on the display screen, and displaying an alert as anindication to the user that the video conference session is thebackground active application and the outgoing audio communication oroutgoing video is being transmitted as output of the video conferencesession. The method further comprising determining that audio of thevideo conference session is muted and initiating to unmute the audio ofthe video conference session along with the user interface of the videoconference session being surfaced for display on the display screen. Themethod further comprising determining that video for the videoconference session is deactivated and initiate to activate a camera tocapture the video for the video conference session along with the userinterface of the video conference session being surfaced for display onthe display screen.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computing device, comprising: a displayscreen to display a user interface of a foreground active applicationincluding at least one of a device application or a video conferencesession; a content control module implemented at least partially inhardware and configured to: detect that a remote user connects to thevideo conference session from a remote device, and the video conferencesession is a background active application on the computing device;determine that audio of the video conference session is muted; andinitiate to unmute the audio of the video conference session along withthe user interface of the video conference session being surfaced fordisplay on the display screen in response to the audio being muted andbased on the remote user connecting to the video conference session. 2.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the content control module isconfigured to: determine that video for the video conference session isdeactivated; and initiate to activate a camera to capture the video forthe video conference session along with the user interface of the videoconference session being surfaced for display on the display screen. 3.The computing device of claim 1, wherein the content control module isconfigured to determine that the user interface of the video conferencesession is not displayed on the display screen.
 4. The computing deviceof claim 1, wherein the content control module is configured to: detectoutgoing audio of the video conference session from the computing devicewhile the user interface of the foreground active application displayedon the display screen is not the video conference session; and initiateto display an alert as an indication that the video conference sessionis the background active application and the outgoing audio is beingtransmitted as output of the video conference session.
 5. The computingdevice of claim 1, wherein the content control module is configured to:detect outgoing video of the video conference session from the computingdevice while the user interface of the foreground active applicationdisplayed on the display screen is not the video conference session; andinitiate to display an alert as an indication that the video conferencesession is the background active application and the outgoing video isbeing transmitted as output of the video conference session.
 6. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the content control module isconfigured to: detect in incoming audio data that a user is beingaddressed during the video conference session; and initiate to surfacethe user interface of the video conference session for display on thedisplay screen responsive to the user being addressed and the videoconference session not being the foreground active application.
 7. Thecomputing device of claim 6, further comprising: an audio module toprocess the incoming audio data of the video conference session fromwhich the content control module detects that the user is beingaddressed during the video conference session.
 8. A method, comprising:detecting that a remote user connects to a video conference session froma remote device, and the video conference session is a background activeapplication on a computing device; determining that video for the videoconference session is deactivated; and activating a camera to capturethe video for the video conference session along with a user interfaceof the video conference session being surfaced for display on a displayscreen in response to the video being deactivated and the remote userconnecting to the video conference session.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising: determining that audio of the video conferencesession is muted; and unmuting the audio of the video conference sessionalong with the user interface of the video conference session beingsurfaced for display on the display screen.
 10. The method of claim 8,further comprising: determining that the user interface of the videoconference session is not displayed on the display screen.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: detecting outgoing audio of thevideo conference session from the computing device while a userinterface of a foreground active application displayed on the displayscreen is not the video conference session; and displaying an alert asan indication that the video conference session is the background activeapplication and the outgoing audio is being transmitted as output of thevideo conference session.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:detecting outgoing video of the video conference session from thecomputing device while a user interface of a foreground activeapplication displayed on the display screen is not the video conferencesession; and displaying an alert as an indication that the videoconference session is the background active application and the outgoingvideo is being transmitted as output of the video conference session.13. The method of claim 8, further comprising: detecting in incomingaudio data that a user is being addressed during the video conferencesession; and surfacing the user interface of the video conferencesession for display on the display screen responsive to the user beingaddressed and the video conference session not being a foreground activeapplication on the computing device.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: processing the incoming audio data of the video conferencesession from which the audio data is detected that the user is beingaddressed during the video conference session.
 15. A method, comprising:detecting that a remote user connects to a video conference session froma remote device, and the video conference session is a background activeapplication on a computing device; detecting at least one of an outgoingaudio or outgoing video of the video conference session from thecomputing device; and displaying an alert as an indication that thevideo conference session is the background active application and theoutgoing audio or the outgoing video is being transmitted as output ofthe video conference session in response to the remote user connectingto the video content session.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: determining that a user interface of the video conferencesession is not displayed on a display screen of the computing device.17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: detecting in audio datathat a user is being addressed during the video conference session; andsurfacing a user interface of the video conference session for displayon a display screen responsive to the user being addressed during thevideo conference session.
 18. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: parsing the audio data of the video conference session intotext content; and the detecting that the user is being addressedincludes detecting an identity of the user from the text content of theparsed audio data.
 19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:determining that audio of the video conference session is muted; andunmuting the audio of the video conference session along with a userinterface of the video conference session being surfaced for display ona display screen.
 20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:determining that video for the video conference session is deactivated;and activating a camera to capture the video for the video conferencesession along with a user interface of the video conference sessionbeing surfaced for display on a display screen.